Return to Biblical Holiness

In this part of the sermon: Martin opens the sermon by setting the context of the Trinity Pastors Conference and reiterating the overarching theme 'Our Vision for These Days.' He explains that this message…

Martin uses the analogy of 'treasure in earthen vessels' and the promise that 'they who wait upon the Lord... shall renew their strength' to encourage weary conference attendees, linking physical and spiritual renewal to waiting on God.

This message was delivered at the 6th Annual Trinity Pastors Conference held at the Trinity Baptist Church in Montville, New Jersey. This is the second in a series of messages entitled Our Vision for These Days and the title of this message is A Return to Biblical Holiness. Now let us again seek the face of God in prayer, particularly praying that God will give to the men who this day have given very careful and according to one brother I spoke to, exhausting attention to the ministry of the word. We are thankful that God has been near to us as Pastor Lamar mentioned but we have the treasure i...

0:02 - 1:26 Read in full sermon

Driving home: Our salvation in Christ was never contemplated in the misty and at times we might say even mysterious subterranean depths of electing love. Never was it even conceived in the mind of God without an intention to make us h…

He describes Ephesians 1 as Paul 'spilling out a marvelous system of divinity in the form of eulogy,' where 'systematic theology bursts from a glowing heart,' illustrating the passionate, worshipful nature of Paul's doctrinal exposition.

in which the Apostle Paul spills out a marvelous system of divinity in the form of eulogy, in which his systematic theology bursts from a glowing heart in the form of this great hymn of praise to the Triune God, he writes, verse 3, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, even as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy, holy, holy, holy, holy, holy, holy, holy, holy, holy, holy, holy, holy, holy, holy, holy, holy, holy, holy, holy, without blemish before Him....

13:27 - 14:57 Read in full sermon

Driving home: Our salvation in Christ was never contemplated in the misty and at times we might say even mysterious subterranean depths of electing love. Never was it even conceived in the mind of God without an intention to make us h…

Martin vividly recounts the shame, horror, and suffering of Christ—Gethsemane, Caiaphas, Roman execution, the darkness—to underscore that all this was endured not for superficial religiosity but 'in order to sanctify' His church and present it 'holy and without blemish.'

Ephesians chapter 5 and in this section in which the apostle is giving practical counsel to husbands and wives using Christ and his love to the church and the church's relation to Christ as the great reality of which marriage is but a shadow. We read in verse 25 husbands love your wives even as Christ also loved the church and gave. Himself up for it to reference to his laying down his life as a substitutionary sacrifice for sin and what was the end in view in order that he might sanctify it having cleansed it by the washing of water with the word in order that he might present the church to h...

20:06 - 21:07 Read in full sermon

The point: Examine whether the lives of church members reflect a zeal for holiness, indicating that Christ died to make them holy.

He asks if an unannounced stranger mingling in an average evangelical church would perceive that 'somebody died to make them consumed with zeal to live a holy life,' highlighting the disconnect between professed faith and practical holiness in many churches.

Might not merely make them savable but that he might actually save them by cleansing and presenting them to himself central to his purpose in the procurement of redemption was the securing to himself of a holy people and the presenting of himself in the last day of a people who will be saved. This spotless and without any. Blemish. Now I ask you my ministering brethren would you get the slightest idea from the plethora of gospel preaching on the airwaves and the TV waves from the majority of the preaching in the best of our evangelical churches. That's central to the very purpose of redemptive...

29:22 - 30:31 Read in full sermon

The point: Recognize that being labeled a 'legalist' for pursuing serious universal holiness is a tragic misnomer, as this is true evangelical grace.

Martin laments that in most evangelical churches, someone committed to serious universal holiness is 'immediately labeled as a legalist,' illustrating the perversion of grace and the misunderstanding of true biblical holiness.

Were you to come an unannounced stranger and simply mingle among the church members in the average evangelical church in our land that claims to believe in plenary verbal inspiration in the essential deity of our Lord Jesus Christ in the doctrine of the Trinity substitutionary atonement. Were you to simply come as an unannounced. Guest and live and move and mingle with people and see them at the shop and their living room and what they did and did not watch on the TV and how parents related to children and children to parents and how families related to the neighborhood and to the environment ...

30:33 - 31:58 Read in full sermon

Driving home: There's no other way that leads to life. But the way of serious spirit wrought. Not gospel holiness. It is indispensable in the application of salvation.

He uses Jesus' teaching on the narrow gate and broad way (Matthew 7:13-14) to illustrate that a 'surface shallow religious experience' on a broad road, even with religious language, leads to destruction, while true life is found only on the narrow, holy path.

And the apex of the privilege of grace fellowship with God is to show that one is at best pitifully ignorant of the very ABCs of grace and probably devoid of a gram of saving grace in his heart holiness is indispensable in the Christian life. Jesus stated it in pictorial language when he says, Enter ye in at the narrow gate, for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction. The gate of surface shallow religious experience is wide. Nor repentance, nor humiliation, nor self-loathing, nor abandonment of works righteousness and flesh withering confession, nothing in my hands I b...

53:49 - 55:03 Read in full sermon

The point: Teach that the scope of biblical holiness encompasses the whole man in the whole of his life, including motives, thoughts, and external deeds.

He uses the example of eating and drinking, activities that make one 'most like your dog,' to illustrate that the scope of holiness extends to even the most mundane aspects of life, doing 'all to the glory of God.'

It's the whole man. The deepest recesses of motive. Whatever you do, even when you're doing the things that make you, most like your dog, you're eating and drinking. Do all to the glory of God.

63:10 - 63:22 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin defines the scope of biblical holiness as encompassing 'the whole man, in the whole of his life.' This includes inner motives, thoughts, and emotions, as well as external…

Martin recounts reading Matthew Henry's three sermons on 'beginning the day with God, continuing the day with God, and ending the day with God,' marveling at Henry's profound godliness and practical instruction for common laborers, to illustrate the depth and pervasiveness of true biblical holiness.

Speaks about our bodies and the sanctity of sex. It touches all of these things. The scope of biblical holiness is the whole man in the whole of his life living, all of it in the presence of God. I recently read a choice treatise.

64:37 - 65:00 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin defines the scope of biblical holiness as encompassing 'the whole man, in the whole of his life.' This includes inner motives, thoughts, and emotions, as well as external…

From Matthew Henry, he quotes the idea of making 'every night when you lie upon your bed, bring near the last time you will lie down in your coffin,' to illustrate how daily spiritual preparation for death can remove trauma from the actual event.

And he was talking to, to common laborers and ordinary people who are up at six o'clock in the morning to hear how to begin the day with God. And he talks about such things as make every night when you lie upon your bed, bring near the last time you will lie down in your coffin. And if you were lying down to lie down for the last time, what issues would you want to settle with God? He said, he who thus dies every night when he goes to sleep will find no great trauma when he actually comes to die.

65:23 - 65:53 Read in full sermon

The point: Teach that the context of biblical holiness is the church of Jesus Christ, rejecting the idea of 'freelance holiness.'

Martin tells a humorous story of two island dwellers, initially holy alone, who would develop 'a nuclear bomb pointed at one another' if put together, to illustrate that true holiness is not 'freelance' but worked out in the challenging context of community.

God knows nothing of freelance holiness. A lot of people as holy as the Archangel Michael. If you put them on an island all alone with nothing but a monkey and a coconut.

69:58 - 70:11 Read in full sermon

The point: Teach that the context of biblical holiness is the church of Jesus Christ, rejecting the idea of 'freelance holiness.'

He uses the example of loving a wife with 'strong mood swings' and being 'unreasonable' due to hormones, to illustrate that holiness is tested and perfected in the difficult, real-life context of relationships, mirroring Christ's love for us at our worst.

The Bible knows nothing of holiness that is limited to marvelous feelings in the closet. Well, you don't have a wife that has strong mood swings with her monthly cycle and goes from being sweet as an angel to being as unreasonable as only the Lord knows what.

70:30 - 70:49 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: The context for biblical holiness is emphatically stated as the church of Jesus Christ (Ephesians 4). Martin rejects the idea of 'freelance holiness,' arguing that true holiness…

Martin shares his initial surprise upon reading the Reformers' teaching that 'ordinarily outside the Church of Christ there is no salvation,' which later helped him understand the communal context of New Testament epistles and the working out of holiness.

That's different, isn't it? And you take all of the precepts. I'll never forget the day it hit me like a ton of bricks. Having no church background and no churchmanship.

71:13 - 71:23 Read in full sermon

The point: Consider that if you've never been accused of being overly scrupulous or legalistic, you might not know anything of a serious pursuit of holiness.

He shares his personal experience of rarely being told to 'do better' in holiness, but frequently being told to 'take it easy' or 'don't be quite so serious,' illustrating how a serious pursuit of holiness often draws criticism from those uncomfortable with its demands.

Rarely have I met a man that put his hand on my shoulder and said, my brother, I appreciate everything I see of your efforts to walk in universal holiness, but you could do better. The men that have done that, I can count on one hand, but I don't have enough hands and feet to count the many that said, brother, just take it easy. Don't be quiet. Don't be quite so serious.

73:21 - 73:47 Read in full sermon

The point: Press on in the pursuit of holiness amidst groans, sighs, and feelings of being overwhelmed, trusting God to keep you on the way.

He uses the analogy of light exposing darkness: 'the moment you get in the presence of any man or woman who takes God's ways more seriously than you do, there is a light that exposes your own darkness,' explaining why people react negatively to serious holiness.

Because you know and I know the moment you get in the presence of any man or woman who takes God's ways more seriously than you do, there is a light that exposes your own darkness.

74:00 - 74:11 Read in full sermon

The point: Read 'Pilgrim's Progress' for a realistic understanding of the Christian life and biblical holiness, rather than superficial modern teachings.

Martin contrasts John Bunyan's 'Pilgrim's Progress,' which depicts both 'sights of the celestial city' and 'encounters with Apollyon,' with 'modern claptrap' offering 'six little steps to a happy Christian life,' to advocate for a realistic understanding of the Christian journey and biblical holiness.

Take out your old pilgrim's progress and read it again. It'll do you a lot more good than the modern claptrap coming off the presses, six little steps to a happy Christian life. Old Bunyan was in touch with reality. Yeah, he got sights of the celestial city that made him dance.

76:07 - 76:25 Read in full sermon